Long-eared Owl

The Long-eared Owl is a slim, cryptically patterned owl found across much of North America, Europe, and Asia, favoring dense conifer or shrub groves for daytime roosting, often adjacent to open fields or grassland where it hunts at night.

Its most distinctive feature is a pair of long, closely spaced ear tufts held upright, giving it a cat-like facial expression - a trait shared in general form with the Short-eared Owl but held more prominently and closer together here.

Its slender body and richly streaked orange-buff and brown plumage provide excellent camouflage against tree bark and dense foliage when roosting by day, and it often gathers in small communal winter roosts.

Recognizing the feathers

• Body feathers show a mottled orange-buff and brown ground with bold vertical (lengthwise) streaking throughout the underparts.
• Ear-tuft feathers are notably long and held close together, more prominent and closer-set than the shorter, often-hidden tufts of the Short-eared Owl.
• Flight feathers are relatively slender for the owl's size, with soft fringed edges.
• Facial disc feathers are orange-buff, framing orange eyes.

Similar species

• Longer, more prominent and closely spaced ear tufts and a slimmer overall body shape separate this species from the Short-eared Owl, whose ear tufts are tiny and rarely visible, and whose plumage is generally paler and less richly streaked.

Plumage

Adults show mottled orange-buff and brown upperparts and boldly streaked orange-buff underparts, with long, close-set ear tufts and orange eyes. Sexes look similar, with subtle differences in overall tone.

Juveniles are downier with a distinctive dark facial patch before fledging, gradually acquiring the adult streaked plumage.

Molt occurs over summer and early fall.

Habitat & range

Widespread across North America, Europe, and Asia, roosting by day in dense conifer groves, shelterbelts, or thickets, typically adjacent to open grassland, farmland, or shrub-steppe used for nocturnal hunting.

Northern populations are migratory, often moving south to form communal winter roosts of several to dozens of birds, while southern populations may be largely resident.

Behavior & field notes

Hunts small mammals over open ground at night, using acute hearing to locate prey in low light or complete darkness.

Its call is a low, repeated hoot given mainly during the breeding season; outside the breeding season it is largely silent and reliant on camouflage while roosting.

A slender, richly streaked orange-buff body feather, or a long, closely paired ear-tuft feather, found near dense conifer roosts adjacent to open fields, is a strong indicator of this species.